Kulick resigns as Middle Smithfield supervisor

Tuesday

Jul 17, 2007 at 12:20 AMJul 17, 2007 at 1:19 AM

Middle Smithfield Township Supervisor Debbie Kulick is gone sooner than expected. Kulick, who decided earlier this year not to seek a third six-year term, instead left office last weekend rather than complete her current term through December.

Kulick, who decided earlier this year not to seek a third six-year term, instead left office last weekend rather than complete her current term through December. She cited a hostile work situation.

"I could not accomplish the work I really felt was necessary," Kulick said Monday. "I could not accomplish it in that atmosphere."

Kulick wouldn't elaborate on what factors made it difficult for her. "I'm not the kind of person that likes to throw things," she said.

Kulick, a Republican first elected in 1995, served as supervisors chairwoman prior to fellow Republican Scott Schaller taking office in January 2006. Schaller, with the support of Supervisor Ron Clewell, replaced Kulick as supervisors chairwoman on the three-member board.

Schaller defended his record Monday and said he wishes Kulick elaborated on the reasons for her early departure.

"In my eyes, the public wasn't satisfied with her performance for a long time and I tried to make several changes in the township," Schaller said, charging that Kulick neglected township matters in favor of her work on behalf of Bushkill Emergency Corps. "I saw in the last year and half the township was essentially paying her time on the ambulance corps."

Kulick disputed that assessment.

"I spent a lot of time giving to a lot of entities," Kulick said. "The township was one and the ambulance corps was another ... There are jobs (I did) they're going to have to pick up on."

The supervisors voted this year to seek competing proposals for primary ambulance service in the township that has been provided by Bushkill Emergency Corps. Township officials are working with the county 911 control center and the Eastern Pa. EMS Council to develop contract specifications for which companies will submit competing offers.

Kulick is president of Bushkill and owner of a leasing company that provided $367,000 worth of staffing to the ambulance corps last year. She works out of a township-owned building behind Foxmoor Village shopping plaza, for which her leasing company pays the township a nominal fee of $1 per year.

Kulick said the primary responder designation has nothing to do with her decision to leave.

Clewell said he is taken aback by Kulick's decision to leave office now. "I've sided with her on things more than with Scott," Clewell said. "I'd like to see her (resignation) letter, really."

Kulick said she mailed her resignation Saturday and addressed it to Jennifer Wise, the township attorney.

Kulick, 51, was first elected in 1995, taking office in January 1996. The Republican was re-elected in an extremely close 2001 race, edging Democrat Clewell by seven votes, before Clewell ran again against other opposition and won.

She initially ran for township supervisor in 1985 but lost that race. She has been involved with Bushkill Emergency Corps since the mid-1970s.

Kulick said she hasn’t decided if she will stay active in township affairs by attending future township meetings.

“I have a clean slate to sort of discover new things to do,” she said. “I think at the moment resting sounds good.”

Schaller said he's not sure who will serve the remainder of Kulick's term but that it might be filled by Robert Spano, who captured both major party nominations in the spring and is running unopposed for Kulick's seat in the November general election.